The present invention relates to the field of film and video photography. In particular the present invention discloses a camera device that captures a 360 degree panoramic image and display systems for displaying the panoramic image captured by the camera device.
Most cameras only provide a small viewing angle. Thus, a typical conventional camera only captures an image in the direction that the camera is aimed. Limited view cameras force viewers to look only at what the camera operator chooses to focus on. Some cameras use a specialized wide angle lens to capture a wider panoramic image, but such panoramic cameras still have a limited field of view.
It would be desirable to have a camera system that would capture the light from all directions such that a full 360 degree panoramic image can be created. A full 360 degree panoramic image would allow the viewer to choose what she would like to look at. Furthermore, a full 360 degree panoramic image allows multiple viewers to simultaneously view the world from the same point, with each being able to independently choose their viewing direction and field of view.
At the present time, there are some known methods of creating 360 degree panoramic images. However, most current methods are subject to limitations due to their physical movements and mechanical complexity. For example, some of the current methods operate by combining a series of individual photographs taken in different directions into a single panoramic image. Some panoramic cameras spin a lens and film to capture a panoramic view in a single sweeping motion.
There is a market for panoramic photos to be used in multimedia applications, typically provided on CD-ROMs. In the last few years, some software manufacturers have introduced standards for digital storage and computer playback of panoramic datasets. One example is QuickTime(copyright) VR, introduced by Apple(copyright) Computer, Inc. Apple(copyright) Computer""s QuickTime(copyright) VR standard governs the file storage format and the playback software needed to view their datasets.
Currently, Apple Computer recommends and provides software tools to implement a labor-intensive process for capturing these panoramic datasets. In the Apple QuickTime(copyright) VR (QTVR) process a standard 35 mm camera is mounted vertically on a leveled tripod and equipped with an extreme wide angle lens (e.g. 15-18 mm focal length). A sequence of twelve or more overlapping still photographs is taken at roughly 30 degree intervals as the camera is turned on the tripod around a vertical axis. These photographs are developed, digitized and then fed into a semi-automated software program called a xe2x80x9cstitcherxe2x80x9d that merges the overlapping still photographs into one long panoramic strip.
The labor intensive process suffers from a number of shortcomings. First, the process is time-consuming since many steps require human intervention and guidance. Furthermore, the recommended process is prone to temporal artifacts since it captures each individual photo at a different time. This means that the xe2x80x9cstitchedxe2x80x9d pan image is not instantaneous but rather is made up of individual photos taken at different times. The time change during the series of photographs makes it nearly impossible to create panoramic images in changing scenes containing shorelines, urban crowds and traffic, windblown trees, etc. Finally, it is difficult to see how the image capture method recommended by Apple QuickTime(copyright) VR (QTVR) can be extended from a single still panoramic image into a continuous frame, or motion picture panoramic image capture.
The present invention discloses a camera device that instantaneously captures a 360 degree panoramic image. Furthermore, the present invention discloses various different systems for displaying the panoramic images.
In the camera device, virtually all of the light that converges on a point in space is captured. Specifically, in the camera of the present invention, light striking this point in space is captured if it comes from any direction, 360 degrees around the point and from angles 50 degrees or more above and below the horizon as illustrated in FIG. 1.
Other objects, features and advantages of present invention will be apparent from the company drawings and from the detailed description that follows below.